Healthy And Packaged Food Have To Go Hand In Hand

THE FOOD PROCESSING department was under the agriculture ministry until Prime Minister Narendra Modi made it a separate ministry, and appointed Harsimrat Kaur Badal as its head. Almost five years later, she is happy with the progress made in infrastructure building, and has a lot of plans in the pipeline.

- Vijaya Pushkarna

Excerpts from an exclusive interview:

Why hive off food processing into a different ministry?

India is one of the largest producers of food in the world. We are number one in the production of milk, and number two in fruits, vegetables, cereals, poultry and meat. So, we have a huge raw material base. But, we process only 10 per cent of what we produce. As a result, we have high wastage.

This is because there is not enough infrastructure for storage, preservation and processing. We have been working for the past five years to boost this sector.

What are your immediate expectations from infrastructure building?

It is one of the highest generators of employment. The mega food park and cold chain schemes employ a large number of women. Furthermore, the more [the food] processed, the more it will be preserved, and the more will be the availability. This means inflation stays in check. Cold storage and preservation will ensure year-long availability. So, it is a good idea for consumers as well.

The Central government aims to double farmers' income by 2022. What is your ministry's role?

By how much can [a farmer] increase his production? There is a limit to that. But when he starts value adding... a kilo of potatoes sells for 2, but a packet of chips sells for 50. So, he has to go for value addition.